"I hope [the NBA lockout] issue settles. And I will decide in early October,” Ginobili said in a note to LU2 Radio Bahía Blanca about his future playing options.

If Ginobili does plan to play in Europe, he will be one of the most notable NBA players to choose that route during the lockout.

The pictures we saw at the end of the FIBA Americas tournament showed a tired-looking Ginobili with a bandage over his nose looking like he needed a few weeks of rest to get ready for the upcoming season, his 10th in the NBA. Ginobili turned 34 in July and it’s getting tougher for him to prepare for each new season as he grows older.

But with talks about ending the lockout appearing to grind to a stalemate, Ginobili and other NBA players will start to give overseas options more interest.

If it becomes clear that there won’t be any NBA basketball during the next several months, I look for other top NBA players to start playing outside the country.